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Dunno. We do these very rarely, so I have no idea. We just take pictures of the serial numbers so we can prove which one we shipped out vs. what was returned if it gets to that. If a buyer says it is broken, I would say we will pay for return shipping and will test when we receive the item. Either they are really fishing for a partial refund or trying to scam with returning the wrong device. We would accept return (no partial), and use pictures of the serial numbers.
We had our boys test the video game systems, by putting games in them (which also tested the games). You can probably get a cheap PS game online or at Game Stop just to test if you think that will help boost the price by saying it is tested and works.
I don’t iron, but I run each one with a steamer (much quicker and stays on the hanger). Longer if it needs it, less if it doesn’t. It gives me another chance to quality check before I list, and if there are any odors, the steamer lets me know that quickly. I would actually like to have a prep area that has the studio lights in them when I steam. There are times that very faint marks or very faint stains can only be seen in the studio, which drives me nuts because it interrupts my flow of listing when I have to spot clean or move something back.
I wish I was immortal…or at least, didn’t need sleep. There are times when I think “Sleep is so unproductive…” That ain’t a healthy thought either, but it is still there for me to work on.
I have two speeds…
Mach 5 and Stop.
I have only been to a few antique auctions, but the people there remind me of a lot of the ones when I went with my dad each weekend to the cattle auctions. Smile and be friendly…and keep your hand on your wallet…
My dad had a mentor when he started ramping up his cattle business. I will never forget the last lesson he taught my dad. My dad was selling a horse to his mentor, and when he dropped off the horse, his mentor handed him an envelope with the cash in it. My dad put the envelope in his jacket pocket and they kept talking. Finally his mentor said “Are you going to count it?” My dad replied “No. We are good friends. I trust you.” Mentor said “Count it.”
It was $400 short.
That was his last lesson. Hence my philosophy of Trust…but verify.
Sounds like my house some days… LOL!!!
Yeah, and I have said that to myself so many times…”I should be listing”… LOL!
Yep. I lost out on a $150 sale to Saudi Arabia since they lost the package. My loss (though makes me consider the Global Shipping Program!).
My old company did have one customer that was FOB Shipping Point, so once we printed the BOL after the truck was loaded, sale was complete. But they also provided all the trucks and arranged all the shipment, so it made sense.
We all treat our businesses as FOB Shipping Point (since after we get paid and ship it out, we feel it is done), but in reality, we are FOB Destination. If we were ever audited, and if it was material, we would have to look at all shipments made before year-end but are scheduled to arrive AFTER year end, and reverse those sales out of the current year and put them in the next year.
Yeah. I did that for 13+ years, every quarter-end. For thousands of transactions each time…
I don’t miss that part of the job! LOL!
You can look us up at Vero’s Vault (store name) or verosatt (ebay ID).
Agree. 90% of my shirts I know the price, more research on sweaters since they get more unique, and I look up each sport coat and suit as I go. Too many variables to factor in each time.
We have spent time doing your process (and Jay and Ryanne) where I would take photos and Veronica would list. If we did that now, I’m sure we could do 30+ items per day at this point. We have become much more efficient at the process.
With all that said, I usually like to measure how many listings we do per week and per month. That has a better factor for how “life” happens in the process, and it allows for a full cycle of work (adding in the sourcing and shipping). Plus, if you have a day where you are just not in the groove, you can try to pick up the slack later.
That is one of the best things I love about this forum. Sharing our weeks and months, both in sales and in how much listing we do. It helps hold us accountable for the work that we do each week. Plus you can see how different people list, their average ROI on each sale, the speed of their process, etc. None of us are the same, but we can all learn from each other.
Ryanne: Does GDBK break out each PayPal transaction into Sales Price, Shipping Price, PayPal Fee, and Sales Tax?
I think you can ask Dr. G and see what you find. I seem to remember that there are some sites that talk a lot about how to identify, etc.
You can always auction and start with a high price and see where it goes. Just have lots of the right keywords to generate interest.
“It’s infinitely interesting to hear people say they’d walk away from a $1,000,000 sale because they made a mistake.”
So true. Like when I hear people say that actors or professional athletes are overpaid. They may be, but would any of us turn down those salaries if they were offered to us? Very easy to say, but if we are never in that situation, we are never put to the test.
You were put to an interesting test. This is life, there isn’t a “right” answer most of the time, just how you react. You did something that was legal (based on my view), so the rest is just talk. Some would do what you did, some wouldn’t, but in the end, it is all armchair quarterbacking.
No worries man, and I commend you for bringing this up, as it is an interesting topic. Such is the life of a celebrity. There are a lot of haters out there that would not want to have an open internet forum on the decisions they make…
Mike, you are bringing the legal side to it which I thought of as well, but didn’t want to touch on at all. I ain’t a lawyer and don’t pretend to be one on the internet…
Being my old accounting self, this to me is a discussion of FOB Shipping Point or FOB Destination. FOB stands for Free On Board, but it stands for when possession legally passes from seller to buyer in the transaction.
Based on how I see eBay operate, I believe that they are FOB Destination, meaning that legal possession does not pass until it arrives at the buyers location. Based on how I see that sellers can cancel sales, and the fact that we as sellers are responsible for the item reaching the buyer’s door, I’m sure that eBay acts as FOB Destination. Think of the times that we have given something to USPS, they lose it, and we have to eat it. Why? FOB Destination. Right (and responsibility) to the item does not pass until it reaches it’s destination.
If eBay was FOB Shipping Point, then we would NOT have the right to cancel a sale after the money has been paid for, and we would NOT be responsible if the item doesn’t get delivered (since possession passed at the Shipping Point).
I think Jay & Ryanne are fine legally on this, since eBay is set up as FOB Destination (which makes the most sense overall). I think you and I think about our sales as FOB Shipping Point (meaning once it is paid for, the deal is done).
Ahh, the tangled webs that happen in business!
PS – Interesting concept on the Karma of sending the original buyer a bone… That would be something Veronica would bring up!
As an OCD accountant, I am curious on how the GoDaddy Bookkeeping handles the accounting when importing. For each PayPal transaction, is does it split out the sales price, the shipping revenue, and the PayPal fee (and the Sales Tax if you collected)? If so, that could be huge. I have everything in Quicken now, and the PayPal import into Quicken is an absolute nightmare, so I have to do this splitting out by hand.
If GoDaddy imports these and does it correctly, that could be huge. Is GoDaddy a one-time charge or a monthly subscription?
I have heard the same thing about the first words being the most important. We always put the brand first, then for me, any selling points on the item (spread collar, cashmere, silk, etc.) I try to get in the early part of the title. I think that is just good marketing anyway…
For Veronica and I, we list independently. Veronica does collectibles (and jeans when she is getting short on items to list), and I do all clothing.
For my clothing, I am at 4 items per hour on the low end, 6-7 on the high end. This is prep, photo, and listing. I do things in batch, where I will get 80-100 items prepped, then I will photo and draft the listing for around 10 items, then photo edit, then price and submit the listings. I average 20-35 items per day when I am full time. Days like now where I’m working the contract gig, I am doing 10 items in the morning before I come in to the office.
For Veronica, she will photo about 4-5 items at a time, then list, then repeat. She will do anywhere from 8 per day for items that need a lot of cleaning or research, and up to 16 per day when she is set up.
Our goal is to hit at least 100 items per week when we are full time, and with our new processes, we are looking to improve to 125 soon.
For me, templates are huge. So I already have most of the item specifics and Item Description done, I just have to add color, size, measurement, etc. Having SixBit helps as well, as I am now beginning to look at my past sales since we implemented in July for my pricing on many items, so that helps things go quick.
Completely agree. It is always easy to talk about hypothetical situations. There is an entire industry that does that (football analysis shows).
Just remember, that every minute you think about what others think is taking away 5 minutes of your time on getting your own stuff done. And when you are online, there are a lot of people that love to flex digital muscles.
I love the perspective of the different answers as well, and I’m glad this all came up. We are not all the same, so having different thoughts on how to handle different situations is what helps us learn.
Keep up the great work!
